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Esperero Canyon Middle School

Q: Is Esperero Canyon Middle School a good school?

Esperero Canyon Middle School ranks 83 rd of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

83^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 552 Arizona Middle Schools

Better than 85% of Arizona middle schools

Summary

Esperero Canyon Middle School is a public middle school located in Tucson, Arizona, serving 509 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Catalina Foothills Unified District, which is ranked 38 out of 289 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Esperero Canyon Middle School consistently performs above the state and district averages in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school had 67% of 6th graders, 72% of 7th graders, and 67% of 8th graders proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 41%, 42%, and 40%, respectively. In mathematics, the school had 39% of 6th graders, 52% of 7th graders, and 48% of 8th graders proficient or better, compared to the state averages of 29%, 27%, and 27%. The school has maintained a high statewide ranking, placing in the top 15% of Arizona middle schools for the past several years, and has relatively low dropout rates compared to the state average.

Esperero Canyon Middle School outperforms many of the nearby middle schools in the Tucson area, particularly those in the Tucson Unified District. For example, Amphitheater Middle School, Gridley Middle School, Doolen Middle School, and Magee Middle School all have significantly lower test scores and statewide rankings compared to Esperero Canyon. The school's consistent high performance and diverse student population make it a standout institution in the region.

495

Students ?

19.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,440

Per pupil spending ?

13%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5801 N Sabino Canyon Rd
Tucson, AZ 85750-0958

(520) 209-8100

District: Catalina Foothills Unified District

Students who attend Esperero Canyon Middle School usually attend:

High:

Catalina Foothills High School

Feeder schools for Esperero Canyon Middle School:

Elementary:	Canyon View Elementary School
	Ventana Vista Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

52.1%

Hispanic:

35.2%

Two or more races:

7.1%

See top rated Arizona middle schools

Compare Esperero Canyon Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 86th percentile in 2015 → 85th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Arizona average (57% vs 34% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 15% of Arizona middle schools

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school57%

District avg61%

Arizona avg34%

83^rd of 552

Arizona public middle schools ?

Top 15%▼ down 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Arizona Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle Schools in the Catalina Foothills Unified District

38^th of 289Catalina Foothills Unified District among Arizona districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	79.7	83 of 552	85.0%	★★★★☆
2024	83.4	70 of 550	87.3%	★★★★☆
2023	88.3	70 of 854	91.8%	★★★★★
2022	76.9	104 of 605	82.8%	★★★★☆
2021	82.7	114 of 832	86.3%	★★★★☆
2019	78.3	115 of 605	81.0%	★★★★☆
2018	87.4	71 of 711	90.0%	★★★★★
2017	83.6	90 of 695	87.1%	★★★★☆
2016	87.8	72 of 677	89.4%	★★★★☆
2015	84.0	73 of 521	86.0%	★★★★☆
2014	85.6	87 of 690	87.4%	★★★★☆
2013	82.9	91 of 787	88.4%	★★★★☆
2012	84.9	67 of 772	91.3%	★★★★★
2011	87.5	58 of 685	91.5%	★★★★★
2010	88.3	49 of 692	92.9%	★★★★★
2009	88.5	43 of 663	93.5%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	84.9	24 of 400	94.0%	★★★★★
2021	46.0	234 of 573	59.2%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	40.4	152 of 247	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.5	99 of 192	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	76.1	48 of 404	88.1%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	41.9	62 of 145	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	41.7	298 of 606	50.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	68.0	89 of 395	77.5%	★★★★☆
2024	78.3	53 of 386	86.3%	★★★★☆
2023	87.5	67 of 806	91.7%	★★★★★
2022	73.6	86 of 494	82.6%	★★★★☆
2021	83.8	95 of 820	88.4%	★★★★☆
2019	77.1	85 of 466	81.8%	★★★★☆
2018	82.6	84 of 624	86.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	71.4	71 of 345	79.4%	★★★★☆
2024	74.0	58 of 329	82.4%	★★★★☆
2023	79.7	95 of 760	87.5%	★★★★☆
2022	54.9	153 of 392	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	66.8	164 of 802	79.6%	★★★★☆
2019	71.2	83 of 387	78.6%	★★★★☆
2018	88.2	36 of 543	93.4%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	74.6	56 of 344	83.7%	★★★★☆
2024	80.2	37 of 320	88.4%	★★★★☆
2023	65.9	160 of 717	77.7%	★★★★☆
2018	73.7	87 of 503	82.7%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	73.4	72 of 379	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	72.0	78 of 370	78.9%	★★★★☆
2023	85.9	72 of 810	91.1%	★★★★★
2022	65.4	132 of 476	72.3%	★★★★☆
2021	79.2	130 of 818	84.1%	★★★★☆
2019	68.0	123 of 435	71.7%	★★★★☆
2018	88.6	56 of 617	90.9%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	52.3	56 of 110	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	52.4	33 of 68	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	66.1	28 of 143	80.4%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	56.1	148 of 384	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	78.1	25 of 211	88.2%	★★★★☆
2021	70.8	110 of 650	83.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2023	39.0	176 of 363	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	54.9	181 of 789	77.1%	★★★★☆
2018	57.2	49 of 178	72.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arizona percentile	Rating
2025	67.7	70 of 277	74.7%	★★★★☆
2024	72.4	56 of 288	80.6%	★★★★☆
2023	86.2	48 of 675	92.9%	★★★★★
2022	71.5	81 of 446	81.8%	★★★★☆
2021	79.3	95 of 780	87.8%	★★★★☆
2019	63.9	109 of 337	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	78.6	70 of 436	83.9%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2023)94th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)84th percentile~ school

Male (2025)81st percentile-4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)79th percentile-6 vs school

Female (2025)77th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)75th percentile-10 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)61st percentile-30 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)57th percentile-35 vs school

Special Education (2023)52nd percentile-40 vs school

Military Connected (2023)49th percentile-43 vs school

Asian (2023)38th percentile-53 vs school

By subject vs Arizona (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts69%+28 vs state

Science53%+23 vs state

Mathematics46%+19 vs state

5.0

3 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★3

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, November 21, 2016

Our daughter is thriving at Esperero. The staff is incredibly supportive. If your child struggles, there are many resources. Our daughter is challenged through the gifted program in addition to accelerated math. We love that the school offers many fine art options to create a well rounded education. The band program is excellent, in addition to the art program and choir. The choir teacher works with Tucson Girls Choir so we are very fortunate to have such highly skilled professionals working with our children. We moved from a city where your child needed to attend private school ($20,000 per year) to receive this same level in the Catalina Foothills School District. We happily donate to the foundation and school!!! Close Quote

by a student
Monday, July 19, 2010

esperero is a great learning community and a country wide known school. They have great academics that make learning fun and interesting! If you move to this area, or are looking for a better school in Tucson, come to esperero! Close Quote

Schools Near Esperero Canyon Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				AASA English Language Arts (2025)			AASA Mathematics (2025)			AzSCI Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2022)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	AASA English Language Arts 6th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 7th Grade	AASA English Language Arts 8th Grade	AASA Mathematics 6th Grade	AASA Mathematics 7th Grade	AASA Mathematics 8th Grade	AzSCI Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Esperero Canyon Middle School	Public	6-8	5801 N Sabino Canyon Rd	Tucson	85750	Pima County	Catalina Foothills Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 209-8100	495	25	19.9		258 (52.1%)	9 (1.8%)	174 (35.2%)	19 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.1%)	79.7	83^rd of 552 public middle schools	85.0%		83.4	70^th of 550 public middle schools	87.3%	13	67.0	72.0	67.0	39.0	52.0	48.0	53.0	$8,440	$73	$545	$691	$5,861	$1,962	$7,822
Ida Flood Dodge Traditional Middle Magnet School	Public	6-8	5831 E Pima St	Tucson	85712	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-4100	427	28	15.4		117 (27.4%)	26 (6.1%)	246 (57.6%)	9 (2.1%)	11 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (4.0%)	48.3	233^rd of 552 public middle schools	57.8%		40.3	274^th of 550 public middle schools	50.2%	41	48.0	42.0	49.0	34.0	21.0	40.0	36.0		$00			$00
Magee Middle School	Public	6-8	8300 E Speedway Blvd	Tucson	85710	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-5000	283	27	10.5		89 (31.4%)	31 (11.0%)	122 (43.1%)	10 (3.5%)	3 (1.1%)	7 (2.5%)	21 (7.4%)	16.4	465^th of 552 public middle schools	15.8%		12.8	501^st of 550 public middle schools	8.9%	36	29.0	23.0	25.0		13.0		18.0		$00			$00
Academy of Tucson Middle School	Public, Charter	5-8	2300 N Tanque Verde Loop Rd	Tucson	85749	Pima County	Academy of Tucson Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 749-1413	143	12	11.9		50 (35.0%)	9 (6.3%)	66 (46.2%)	1 (0.7%)	2 (1.4%)	1 (0.7%)	14 (9.8%)	28.2	352^nd of 552 public middle schools	36.2%					(n/a)	41.0	30.0	27.0						$00			$00
Emily Gray Junior High School	Public	7-8	11150 E Tanque Verde Rd	Tucson	85749	Pima County	Tanque Verde Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 749-3838	420	24	17.8		293 (69.8%)	1 (0.2%)	100 (23.8%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	18 (4.3%)	72.2	119^th of 552 public middle schools	78.4%		70.1	130^th of 550 public middle schools	76.4%	11		60.0	54.0		46.0	50.0	42.0	$9,266	$351	$932	$1,634	$6,725	$1,259	$7,983
Orange Grove Middle School	Public	6-8	1911 E Orange Grove Rd	Tucson	85718	Pima County	Catalina Foothills Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 209-8200	683	34	19.8		387 (56.7%)	3 (0.4%)	184 (26.9%)	41 (6.0%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	63 (9.2%)	89.3	45^th of 552 public middle schools	91.8%		85.6	63^rd of 550 public middle schools	88.5%	18	71.0	76.0	68.0	56.0	56.0	62.0	59.0	$7,553	$222	$554	$998	$5,161	$1,616	$6,777
Gridley Middle School	Public	6-8	350 S Harrison Rd	Tucson	85748	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 731-4600	501	34	14.5		191 (38.1%)	42 (8.4%)	209 (41.7%)	11 (2.2%)	6 (1.2%)	7 (1.4%)	35 (7.0%)	25.8	369^th of 552 public middle schools	33.2%		22.1	400^th of 550 public middle schools	27.3%	31	32.0	36.0	34.0	26.0	20.0	19.0	20.0		$00			$00
Doolen Middle School	Public	6-8	2400 N Country Club Rd	Tucson	85716	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 232-6900	490	40	12.3		111 (22.7%)	94 (19.2%)	206 (42.0%)	26 (5.3%)	12 (2.4%)	14 (2.9%)	27 (5.5%)	16.1	471^st of 552 public middle schools	14.7%		14.4	482^nd of 550 public middle schools	12.4%	11	28.0	28.0	27.0	16.0	12.0	11.0	18.0		$00			$00
Alice Vail Middle School	Public	6-8	5350 E 16th St	Tucson	85711	Pima County	Tucson Unified District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(520) 584-5400	573	40	14.5		155 (27.1%)	64 (11.2%)	286 (49.9%)	12 (2.1%)	12 (2.1%)	10 (1.7%)	34 (5.9%)	29.2	341^st of 552 public middle schools	38.2%		25.6	369^th of 550 public middle schools	32.9%	28	35.0	40.0	35.0	26.0	25.0	16.0	23.0		$00			$00
Satori Charter School	Public, Charter	2-8	3727 N 1st Ave	Tucson	85719	Pima County	Satori Inc.	Yes	(n/a)	No	No	(520) 293-7555	97	10	9.7		58 (59.8%)	1 (1.0%)	23 (23.7%)	2 (2.1%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (12.4%)								(n/a)									$00			$00

Frequently Asked Questions about Esperero Canyon Middle School

Is Esperero Canyon Middle School a good school?

Esperero Canyon Middle School ranks 83^rd of 552 Arizona middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Esperero Canyon Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 495 students attended Esperero Canyon Middle School.

What high school do graduates of Esperero Canyon Middle School attend?

Students who attend Esperero Canyon Middle School usually go on to attend Catalina Foothills High School

What is the racial makeup of Esperero Canyon Middle School?

Students at Esperero Canyon Middle School are 52% White, 35% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 2% African American.

What district is Esperero Canyon Middle School in?

Catalina Foothills Unified District

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arizona Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.